Arthur O’Shaughnessy was born in London, England during 1844. He was a poet and a herpetologist. His fascination with reptiles and amphibians was indeed quite fierce! During his life, he discovered six new species of reptiles. Despite his great interest with reptiles, his heart was most in debt to literature. And can we blame him? I think not.
At the age of 17, Arthur took a job as a copyist at the British Museum, but then a few years later became a herpetologist, which is where he remained employed all of his life. In 1870, Arthur published his first collection of poetry, Epic of Women. Arthur is best recognized for his poem Music and Moonlight that was published in 1874, entitled “Ode”. The most familiar stanza being:
“We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams.
World-losers and world-forsakers,
Upon whom the pale moon gleams;
Yet we are the movers and shakers,
Of the world forever, it seems.”
Is it just me or do the first two lines make you crave a Wonka bar? Yes, that’s right. The first two lines of this ever-loved poem are used in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by Wonka himself!
At the age of 30, Arthur married Eleanor Martson (the daughter of author John Westland Martson) and for the next seven years, Arthur did not write any more volumes of poetry. Yet, he and his wife did write a book of children’s stories, Toy-land that was published in 1875. The pair brought two children into the world, but tragically, lost both children at infancy.
In 1879, Eleanor passed away and mysteriously, I was unable to discover what the cause was. Only two short years later, Arthur died at 36 years old. Arthur was walking home from the theatre on a rainy night and acquired a chill…which led to a sickness his mourning body was unable to combat.
Arthur’s final works were published posthumously in 1881, Songs of a Worker. Arthur was honored for his herpetology discoveries in the scientific names of four species of lizards: Calumma oshaughnessyi, Cercosaura oshaughnessyi, Enyalioides ohshaughnessyi and Pachydactylus ohshaughnessyi. Despite this man’s impressive talent for writing, his work wasn’t appreciated by many of his contemporaries, despite his cutting-edge style and often being compared to Tennyson, for his haunting musicality style.
References:
Arthur O’Shaughnessy – Wikipedia
Toyland, by A. & E. O’Shaughnessy by Arthur O’Shaughnessy | Goodreads